Tagged With: London

My great-grandfather was a significant figure in the city of London as one of the founder members of the law firm, Slaughter and May. It still bears his name, though no family members have been associated with the running of it since William died in 1917. Born on May 11th 1857, William was the youngest … Continue reading »

The British are well known for their obsession with the weather, but the current severe winter warnings seem over dramatic when compared ‘big freezes’ in the past. Imagine the winter of 1739-40 that the two surviving van Aken brothers, Joseph and Alexander, lived through. It started with the easterly winds that brought heavy frosts in … Continue reading »